Re: Intelligence and Fitness Mutuality in Cappucine Monkeys

"John Edser" <edser@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:


In experimental situations these monkeys share their spoils. If nuts
become placed in a sealed jar with a covering that could only be
broken by a tool e.g. a flint stone, where one monkey had the stone
and the other the jar of nuts where they remain separated by a
partition with an arm sized hole for communication, the monkey with
the stone tool will pass it to the monkey with the nuts so that it
can bust open the jar. The stone receiving monkey will then pass
back some of the nuts. Cheating was not observed. This behavior is
obviously mutualistic but does not necessarily constitute cognitive
mutualised exchange (commonly referred to as "trade") because
exchange solicitation which requires bargaining were not
observed. After viewing the situation the monkey with the stone
simply passes it to the monkey with the jar of nuts who then passes
some of the nuts back.


It seems like there were plenty of nuts to share in the jar, what if
there were only 1 or 2 or 3? What if the stone would break once used?

.

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